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Books for those of no fixed religion but want 'life guidance'

Marianne72

I tried and failed to find the thread asking people's favourite philosopher, hence this new post. I'm near the end of my journey [on earth] and seeking decent books on spirituality not allied to a particular faith. I wanted to share books I've found useful for day-to-day living, with all its difficulties and stressors.

I've joined a lot of different 'styles' over the years - Christianity, Quakerism, Vedanta, Black Baptist.. They each have merits, not least social opportunities, inclusion and support. But I lost belief in a God, and sliding toward being humanist and a Stoic. I want to live a moral life but not chained to a formal faith.

For the last 7 years I've followed the books by modern philosopher, Ryan Holiday, who follows Stoicism - The Daily Stoic. I've found daily Journal writing really helpful, particularly when recovering trauma or my tendency to ruminate on past hurts and abuses.

I am also fond of modern philosopher Alain de Botton. The one I'm reading now is, 'Religion for Atheists' - by turn amusing, amazing and thought-provoking. He puts forward an interesting idea that ditching formal religion as a whole is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater; that  precepts of major religions have a lot to teach about how to live. So, why not use these to form a religion for atheists [those who do not formally believe in a God but want 'morals' to live by]. With the loss of church power and nothing to take its place, Botton makes interesting reading.

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  • I've been a Pagan for many years now, I started with Wicca, but my spirituality has grown a bit now, or Wicca has narrowed, I'm not sure which, although it does seem to be becoming more codified something I don't feel it was ever intended to be. To quote Sir Terry Pratchet, '.. witches [Wiccans] believe in their gods like they believe in the postman', this is very much how I feel, it's beyond belief or faith, it just is. 

    I notice all the faiths you mentions are basically Christian, have you ever moved outside of Christianity or montheism? For me a multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses is obvious and I can't get my head around montheism anymore, it's taken me a while to reach this point having been brought up with the idea if not the practice of montheism. I dont' find myself with a lack of morals although I sometimes find myself with moral conumdrums and sometimes my moral compas is like that of Cpt Jack Sparrow, in that it points to what I want rather than whats a particularly "good" thing. But then one of the things about following a path such as Wicca is that it makes you conciously think about morality and what good and bad/evil actually mean.

    Have your ever read The Tao of Pooh? Or Buddhism for Sheep? The Tao of Pooh, looks at Taoism via the medium of Winnie the Pooh, its a whimsically wise book. Buddhism for Sheep is a short book using the life of sheep as a metaphor for Zen Buddhism. Both of these books should be easy reading and a good way to start exploring spirituality.

    I think an atheist religion is a contradiction, I get where de Boton is coming from, and it's been a conundrum for humanists and atheists for many many years, how do you have morality without a deity to enforce it? Personally I find it quite easy, our deities don't enforce in the way a monotheistic deity does, or at least what priests tell us pleases their god to punish or allow.

    A lot of Christianity is based around Plato and Neo-Platonism, so you may find those interesting.

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    I sort of get this but a bit beyond my intellect! [I wish I was super-clever like my brother but alas did not inherit that gene]. Is it, that knowing myself I can then be one with God? It's more about learning to love the self, and thus finding peace and joy in life.

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  • in reply to ArchaeC

    I remember years ago being at Glastonbury and this woman had a tote bag with the words ‘Accept the mystery’ printed on it. As I’ve got older I’ve got more comfortable with ‘not knowing’ - with being more relaxed about not having to understand everything, or maybe just having a more instinctive response to things without feeling the need to ‘pin down’ why I connect with them. I was listening to some music the other day which was Rumi’s words put into song form. I wasn’t analysing the words - I just enjoyed taking them in and them resonating with me in ways that I can’t necessarily put into words. 
    Similarly I might listen to some Kirtan/hindu music and be deeply moved by it, and also enjoy going to a service in a Christian Cathedral, or taking part in a Beltane ceremony, etc etc. If I feel that my life is being enriched by any of these things then I’m just very grateful for that, and the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned. As the Buddhists say: “go as a river” - loosen our attitude and practice just ‘being’ and experiencing life with freshness and openness . We don’t need to grasp at and define everything in life - we can just experience things that hopefully bring us joy, contentment and also help us to be decent human beings. 

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    If only it didn't take so many years to realize! 

  • in reply to Marianne72

    You come across as clever Marianne. I don’t get all of Rumi either, and the bits that I think I have comprehended are probably far removed from what he intended. I don’t think that necessarily matters as I am not his disciple and I’m not taking an academic approach. Moreover, he lived a long time ago and language has evolved over the years. Some say that the original meaning has been lost in translation. Sometimes I pick a sentence of his writing here and there, often merely snippets and ponder.

    Marianne72 said:
    Is it, that knowing myself I can then be one with God?

    It could be that.

    I am wondering if Rumi considers his being detached from all religions and nationality, his body, the world, all that is past, present and future etc., His being is detached from the physical and the spiritual, yet he seeks God and if he ‘sees’ God he will in ecstasy? 

    Marianne72 said:
    It's more about learning to love the self, and thus finding peace and joy in life

    That’s the paradox…we need to love the self in order to find peace. 

    .